The present invention relates to free piston engines.
Conventionally, internal combustion engines have operated with the motion of the pistons mechanically fixed. For example, a conventional internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle includes a crankshaft and connecting rod assemblies that mechanically determine the motion of each piston within its respective cylinder. This type of engine is desirable because the position of each piston is know for any given point in the engine cycle, which simplifies timing and operation of the engine. While these conventional types of engines have seen great improvements in efficiency in recent years, due to the nature of the engines, that efficiency is still limited. In particular, the power density is limited because the mechanically fixed motion of the pistons fixes the compression ratio. Moreover, all of the moving parts that direct the movement of the pistons (and camshafts and engine valves as well) create a great deal of friction, which takes energy from the engine itself to overcome. The resulting lower power density means that the engine will be larger and heavier than is desired. Also, the flexibility in the engine design and packaging is limited because of all of the mechanical connections that must be made.
Some crankshaft engines employ direct injection of fuel into the cylinders. While this direct injection can be employed advantageously to further improve the engine operation, the fuel injectors and injector system operating them are generally very expensive. In particular, the injection generally must be accomplished with a very high fuel pressure, which can require an expensive system to generate and control the fuel under these high pressures. Moreover, each fuel injector nozzle is directly exposed to the extreme heat and pressures of the entire combustion event in its cylinder, thus requiring a relatively expensive fuel injector design to withstand these harsh environmental conditions.
Consequently, is desirable, for environmental and other reasons, to have an engine with a higher power density than these conventional engines. The advantages of lighter relative weight, smaller package size, and improved fuel efficiency can be a great advantage in both vehicle and stationary power production applications.
Another type of internal combustion engine is a free piston engine. This is an engine where the movement of the pistons in the cylinders is not mechanically fixed. The movement is controlled by the balance of forces acting on each piston at any given time. Since the motion is not fixed, the engines can have variable compression ratios, which allow for more flexibility in designing the engine's operating parameters. Also, since there are no conventional crankshafts and rods attached to the crankshaft, which reduces piston side force, there is generally less friction produced during engine operation. Moreover, an opposed piston, opposed cylinder (OPOC) configuration of a free piston engine is desirable due to its generally inherently balanced operation, with a compact layout as well. A particularly advantageous way to operate such an engine is with a two stroke combustion cycle—and even more advantageous is to operate with a homogeneous charge, compression ignition (HCCI) type of combustion, which takes best advantage of the ability to operate the engine with a variable compression ratio, in order to further increase the power density of the engine.
However, one concern, in particular, arises, and that is how to inject fuel into such a configuration while maintaining the fuel efficiency and minimizing the cost and complexity of such an engine.